China executes man for poisoning billionaire gaming tycoon

Chinese authorities have executed a man for murdering his associate, billionaire gaming tycoon Lin Qi.

In 2020, a disgruntled Xu Yao poisoned Lin for sidelining him shortly after he helped him land a Netflix deal, local media reported.

Lin's Yoozoo Games holds the film adaptation rights for the Chinese science fiction trilogy which Netflix made into the series 3 Body Problem.

Xu was convicted in 2024 and his execution, which reportedly happened on 21 May, was confirmed on Tuesday by his company in a statement, adding "justice has ultimately been served".

"We deeply mourn Mr. Lin and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family," the statement said.

"As colleagues who fought alongside him, all members of the company are grateful for the impartiality of the judicial process."

The science fiction trilogy 3 Body Problem is based on Chinese author Liu Cixin's Remembrance of Earth's Past. First published in Chinese, the books have been translated into nearly 30 languages and inspired multiple adaptations.

The Netflix adaptation in 2024, quickly became one of the streaming platform's most-watched shows. Lin was posthumously credited as one of its executive producers.

That same year, Xu was convicted of Lin's murder, with the court describing his plot as "extremely despicable".

Lin's death came as a shock to the gaming industry in China and beyond. Lin is the founder of Yoozoo Games, the Shanghai-based developer best known for the Game of Thrones: Winter Is Coming strategy game.

In 2018, Lin appointed Xu to lead Three-Body Universe, a subsidiary to manage projects related to the science fiction franchise.

But they fell out in 2020 when Lin decided to put other executives in charge of business operations, local reports said.

After that, Xu disguised lethal substances as probiotic pills and gave them to Lin.

In December 2020, Lin went to the hospital after feeling unwell. He died nine days later, at the age of 39.

At the time, he was believed to have had a net worth of around 6.8 billion yuan (£745m; $941m), according to the Hurun China Rich List.

Police arrested Xu days after Lin was hospitalised.

Besides Lin's death, Xu's poisoning plot also left several others sick.

Chinese newspaper Economic Observer reported on Tuesday that one of Xu's victims had written on social media: "Justice comes in the end, even if it's late".